| 1 |
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| 2 | A bill to be entitled |
| 3 | An act relating to military personnel on duty; creating |
| 4 | the Citizen Soldier Matching Grant Program within the |
| 5 | Agency for Workforce Innovation; providing for matching |
| 6 | grants to be awarded to private sector employers that |
| 7 | provide wages to employees serving in the United States |
| 8 | Armed Forces Reserves or the Florida National Guard while |
| 9 | those employees are on federal active duty; providing |
| 10 | eligibility requirements for grant recipients; directing |
| 11 | the Agency for Workforce Innovation to develop a plan to |
| 12 | administer the application and payment procedures for the |
| 13 | matching grants; providing for the award of matching |
| 14 | grants after approval of the plan; providing an |
| 15 | appropriation; providing that professional licenses issued |
| 16 | to any member of the Florida National Guard or the United |
| 17 | States Armed Forces Reserves shall not expire while the |
| 18 | member is serving on federal active duty; providing a 90- |
| 19 | day extension period for such licenses after return from |
| 20 | federal active duty; providing requirements with respect |
| 21 | to such extension; providing an effective date. |
| 22 |
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| 23 | Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: |
| 24 |
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| 25 | Section 1. Citizen Soldier Matching Grant Program.--The |
| 26 | Agency for Workforce Innovation shall establish a matching grant |
| 27 | program to award matching grants to private sector employers in |
| 28 | this state that provide wages to employees serving in the United |
| 29 | States Armed Forces Reserves or the Florida National Guard while |
| 30 | those employees are on federal active duty. A grant may not be |
| 31 | provided for federal active duty served before January 1, 2005. |
| 32 | Each grant shall be awarded to reimburse the employer for not |
| 33 | more than one-half of the monthly wages paid to an employee who |
| 34 | is a resident of this state for the actual period of federal |
| 35 | active duty. The monthly grant per employee may not exceed one- |
| 36 | half of the difference between the amount of monthly wages paid |
| 37 | by the employer to the employee at the level paid before the |
| 38 | date the employee was called to federal active duty and the |
| 39 | amount of the employee's active duty base pay, housing and |
| 40 | variable allowances, and subsistence allowance. The agency shall |
| 41 | develop a plan by no later than October 1, 2005, subject to the |
| 42 | notice, review, and objection procedures of s. 216.177, Florida |
| 43 | Statutes, to administer the application and payment procedures |
| 44 | for the matching grant program. The Agency for Workforce |
| 45 | Innovation shall not award any matching grants prior to the |
| 46 | approval of the plan. |
| 47 | Section 2. There is hereby appropriated the sum of |
| 48 | $1,862,961 from the General Revenue Fund and two positions to |
| 49 | the Agency for Workforce Innovation for the purpose of |
| 50 | implementing this act. |
| 51 | Section 3. A professional license issued in the state to |
| 52 | any member of the Florida National Guard or the United States |
| 53 | Armed Forces Reserves shall not expire while the member is |
| 54 | serving on federal active duty and shall be extended for up to |
| 55 | 90 days after his or her return from federal active duty. If the |
| 56 | license is renewed during the 90-day period after his or her |
| 57 | return from federal active duty, the member shall only be |
| 58 | responsible for normal fees and activities relating to renewal |
| 59 | of the license and shall not be charged any additional costs |
| 60 | such as, but not limited to, late fees or delinquency fees. The |
| 61 | member must present to the authority issuing the professional |
| 62 | license a copy of his or her official military orders or a |
| 63 | written verification from the member's commanding officer before |
| 64 | the end of the 90-day period in order to qualify for the |
| 65 | extension. |
| 66 | Section 4. This act shall take effect July 1, 2005. |